Poultry processing plants have become automated to a large extent. Due to Federal regulations, it is necessary to kill the birds while they are in an inverted configuration, so that the blood is pumped from the birds' body via their own heart. Typically, birds are processed in an inverted position with their hocks suspended by shackles pivotally mounted to an overhead conveyor line. This orientation places the tail region roughly midway down the bird body while the pivotal mounting enables the birds to be manipulated along the process line. It is common practice to electrically stun the birds prior to processing them while they are inverted and shackled. In this manner, the birds, while alive, remain relatively motionless for processing.
Conventionally, suspending the bird from the shackles is a manual process. For example, depending on the speed to the overhead conveyor line, several employees can be required to restrain the bird, orient the bird correctly relative to the shackles of the conveyor, and place the bird into the shackles. Because the birds are alive, manually loading the birds into the shackles can be a cumbersome and unsanitary task. Therefore, there is a need in the industry for a system or apparatus to automatically hang live poultry for processing. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as describe herein.